Monsoon Cup wildcard Adam Minoprio has confirmed that he will lead the newly-formed Alpari Racing Team at the final event of the Alpari World Match Racing Tour next month, and expects his team to be back to their Championship-winning best, seven years after their first outing in Malaysia.

Minoprio (NZL) Alpari Racing Team won the Tour in 2009 and has since embarked on a Volvo Ocean Race with CAMPER Team New Zealand, returning this year for two Tour events. An invite to compete at the Monsoon Cup was a welcome surprise for Minoprio, who has now reformed his old crew. He said, "It's great for the guys to be back together and competing as the Alpari Racing team for the Monsoon Cup. We've all been apart for two years, fighting to make it at our own projects but it's great to be back at an event we first cut our teeth at seven years ago.

"Everyone has moved along in different directions in their sailing careers so whilst it's a challenge to reunite, we'll work hard to get back to the top level as quickly as possible and I'm sure we'll have more fun out there than anybody. First and foremost we're good friends and I'm stoked that we can get back together and take on the world's best at the Monsoon Cup."

One of the key factors in Minoprio's previous Championship success, as is the case for so many teams, was a consistent crew. He was missing his full team at the recent Match Race France and ARGO Group Gold Cup in Bermuda, where he finished 11th and fifth respectively. Minoprio will welcome the return of, "Tom Powrie trimming the jib, Dave Swete in the middle, Nick Blackman on the bow with Chris Main coming in for the first time" at the Monsoon Cup.

Minoprio also believes that a successful Monsoon Cup will give him the perfect platform to launch another challenge for the ISAF Match Racing World Championship title, saying, "We need to perform in Malaysia because it would definitely help to put our case forward for a Tour Card next year. It's a statement of intent to the Tour that we're the guys they need to have on the series. We'll give it everything to get a result."

Referring to his ambitions to apply for a Tour card once again in 2013, he said, "The 2013 season is still a while away but I know that there is interest from the guys to sail together again and it'd be good to do another full season as a team. If we can pull together for a challenge on the Alpari World Match Racing Tour, that's what we'll do."

The two New Zealanders on the Tour this season, Laurie Jury (NZL) Kiwi Match Sailing Team and Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing will set up a three-way national battle in Malaysia. Minoprio, commented, "It's always extremely tough racing against other home nation skippers. It's been a long time since I've raced against Laurie [Jury], who I used to do bow for in the Royal New Zealand Youth Training Programme. And the year after that, I was driving and I had Phil Robertson doing the bow for me. To race against these guys again right at the highest level is quite cool. It's going to be a fantastic competition."

The Monsoon Cup, Malaysia's second biggest sports event of the year, will take place on 3-8 December at the Ri-Yaz Heritage Marina Resort & Spa, Pulau Duyong, Kuala Terengganu.

Tom Burton (AUS) and Alison Young (GBR) hit the right note in the Laser and Laser Radial at ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne as they took out the top honours and qualification spots to the 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup Final.

It was double Australian gold in the Paralympic classes. Matt Bugg (AUS) came out on top in the 2.4mR whilst London 2012 Paralympic SKUD18 gold medallists Dan Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch (AUS) were triumphant in the two person keelboat.

Lithuania's Juozas Bernotas came out on top in the Men's RS:X whilst Russia's Stefania Elfutina was triumphant in the Women's RS:X. Both sailors claim the first Abu Dhabi ISAF Sailing World Cup Final spots whilst Jock Calvert (AUS) and Joanna Sterling (AUS) picked up the Oceanic spots for the Emirati finale.

There was some fast paced action in the 49er and 49erFX Medal Races at ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne as Nathan Outteridge & Iain Jensen (AUS) and Maia & Ragna Agerup (NOR) claimed the honours and Abu Dhabi final spots.

A tight group of five young Papua New Guinean (PNG) Laser sailors are stepping up their 2015 Pacific Games competition program using this week's ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne. PNG is one of 33 countries represented at the important Oceanic event, the largest Olympic sailing regatta in the southern hemisphere.

Melbourne, Australia will host the final Rio 2016 Paralympic Games qualification regatta in 2015. With just under one year until the event, the 2015 IFDS Worlds was launched at ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne.

ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne kick starts the journey to the 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup Final in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates with qualification spots and top ranking points available in the Australian city.

Four boats in the Volvo Ocean Race celebrated rounding the venerated landmark of Cape Horn on Monday, a pleasure cruelly denied Dongfeng Race Team (Charles Caudrelier/FRA) after the Chinese boat's mast was broken early in a dramatic day on Leg 5.

The wind played dirty tricks all day in Palma on the sailors and race committees who had to juggle with big shifts and different pressure. From 4 to 20 knots, and reaching 40 in some gusts, the wind turned around the bay playing with everybody's nerves.

Ghosting across the line in the inky blackness of a Mediterranean spring night, finally slicing through the finish line set on the very waters where some 40 odd years ago he cut his teeth as a young, aspiring sailor harbouring great dreams, at 01:47:00hrs local time Guillermo Altadill and his talented, ever reliable Chilean co-skipper Jose Muñoz secured second placed in this third edition of the Barcelona World Race, the round the world race for two crew which left the Catalan capital on December 31st 2014.

Algoa Bay brought lighter conditions on Sunday, and after a postponement waiting for the wind to settle, the race got underway in 7 knots of breeze from the south-east. Ted Conrads and Brian Haines from the USA were the pathfinders, and opened up the gate for the fleet as they sailed out to the right-hand side of the course.